On a cruise a couple of months ago my family was able to fulfill a long time dream of mine and rent a cabana on Disney’s private island Castaway Cay (pronounced Key, just go with it). These do book up quickly despite the price tag that might look a little daunting, so prepare to be up at midnight eastern time the day your booking window opens and you might get lucky, if not, do not despair, I kept checking and got lucky! The cabana’s on the family beach pricing includes 6 guests, with a $53.75 surcharge for per guests for additional guests up to 10 total, excluding Cabana 21 which includes 10 guests,with a $53.75 surcharge for per guests for additional guests up to 16 total . On Serenity Bay, the adults only area, the cabanas pricing includes 4 guests, with the $53.75 surcharge for per guests for additional guests up to 10 total. At the time of this writing Cabana’s 1-20 rent for $590.18, Cabana #21 for $966.43 and the cabanas on Serenity Beach # 22-24 for $428.93 Pricing is subject to change. After some deliberation on my part, and pricing out other port excursions, the price per person really can be seen as on par with other excursions.
We were advised to hop on the tram, and get off at the Pelican Point Tram Stop (2nd and last stop after boarding at the Kargo Handling stop). This is also the point you can switch to the separate Serenity Bay Shuttle.
Upon disembarking at Pelican Point, we were quickly able to find the Cabana Check in booth that doubles as an information booth.
Once we got our instructions for our Cabana we had a choice to pick up our snorkeling gear now, or to head right to our cabana. As the pick up area for the snorkeling gear was close by we decided to get our gear at this time. That being said, we did not personally use it at the cabana and could have saved ourselves hauling it down to the cabana and picking it up at the snorkeling beach later when we went snorkeling.
We then waited for our golf cart to bring us down to our cabana, which was #18 on the family beach. A note about this as there is some misinformation still out there, even when I called Disney Cruise line and spoke to several cast members including a supervisor. Cabanas 18-21 USED to be located on Serenity Beach (the adults only area). Most maps and information you find on line will still state this, however it is no longer the case. Over a year ago (or possibly 2) Disney added on some new cabanas to the family beach, these are at the end of the original family cabanas next to #17. They are now numbered 18-21, with 21 being the largest of the cabanas. Please click here to see an updated map. I really felt it was a great location as we had our own little lagoon area that we shared with just a few cabanas (16-21), and the sand was softer in our area when you started walking out. The lagoon area however is not very deep In comparison when I went over to the beach area for the other cabanas and tried to walk in, it was also very shallow going out and very rocky, making it tough to get deep enough to enjoy my floating mat. The downside of the location at the end is you are a further distance from the bathrooms and Cookies BBQ Too. The distance is certainly walkable or you can request a golf cart ride as well. We used a mixture of the two going back and forth the few times we did. If I had a choice in the future, I would try to get a cabana in the same area we were in.
Upon arrival we were greeted by a sign outside our cabana
Below are some pictures from the entrance area (off the path or golf cart road) of the cabana’s around us.
Inside the cabana, you are greeted with fruit, chips and a fridge full of water and soft drinks, a ceiling fan is running and clean soft towels await you. There is a safe to put away your valuables and plenty of comfortable seating both in the cabana and out on the front porch. The fruit needed to be a little bit fresher was the only downside. We had brought some wine and beer with us and were able to chill that in the fridge.
This outdoor seating is partially shaded by a sail cloth, so make sure you have sunscreen on out here as well if you lay down for a rest!
As you can see we had plenty of soft sand and the small lagoon area I was describing above.
Considering taking a Disney Cruise so you can enjoy a day in paradise in one of their private cabanas? Please contact The Magic for Less Travel for a no obligation quote by clicking here
This was SO helpful & informative! We have reserved #18 for our upsoming cruise and I was viewing an outdated map of Castaway.. I was thinking we were mistakenly placed on serenity bay with 3 kids in tow! LOL!
so glad it was helpful, I really had a hard time finding accurate information & maps beforehand as well. It is a LOVELY spot, you will really enjoy it!
Thank you for the information. I was gonna cancel my cabana #18. Looking at an outdated map made me believe it was on the serenity bay side. Your information was very helpful. Looking forward to our cruise in May.
oh so glad this was helpful, you are going to LOVE this location, enjoy!
I was wondering about the location on the map too. Booked our family Cruise for
June 2016 in #20. Hope my cruise is as successful as yours. Appreciate the beautiful
pictures and comments.
Stayed up until midnight and struck out on a cabana. We had the grand family cabana last time so pretty bummed. If anyone has any ideas for me here on out to get one let me know.
I’m so excited! We were able to score a cabana for our upcoming Disney Wonder Cruise in March. We have Cabana #19, so right next to the one you described! We have 2 cabins and it only allowed me to select the 3 guests in the first cabin. How do I add my additional 3 guests for my total of 6?
oh how exciting! If you can’t figure it out online I would just call DCL, they will know how to do it.
keep trying, you never know when someone might cancel.